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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25325275">False Bravery</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChiaRoseKuro/pseuds/ChiaRoseKuro'>ChiaRoseKuro</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Professional Gaming, Ambiguous Relationships, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Car Accidents, Crying, Gen, Gift Exchange, Handholding, Hinata Shouyou Needs a Hug, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Injuries, Sakusa Kiyoomi Needs a Hug, Time Skips</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:00:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,138</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25325275</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChiaRoseKuro/pseuds/ChiaRoseKuro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In a move that the professional gaming world never saw coming, Sakusa Kiyoomi resigns at the height of his career.</p><p>All, that is, except for Hinata Shouyou - and though Kiyoomi does his best to leave, Hinata has never been one to let go.</p><p>( of loss, misfortune, and the indomitable human spirit in the face of life's ill-fated hand )</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinata Shouyou &amp; Sakusa Kiyoomi, Hinata Shouyou/Sakusa Kiyoomi, Meian Shuugo &amp; Sakusa Kiyoomi, Miya Atsumu &amp; Sakusa Kiyoomi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>MSBY Exchange</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>False Bravery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggieyama/gifts">froggieyama</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>You won't need to know much about professional gaming to understand the few technical aspects in the story - simply know that it bears some parallels to League of Legends and that having a high (and effective) hand speed is fairly important when it comes to being a professional gamer. There are some vague mentions of an accident (that I've attributed to a car), but the main focus is on the mental/emotional recovery process and no car accident is explicitly mentioned.</p><p>I did my best to include Sakusa's dislike of touching/crowds, but it mostly took a back seat to his relationship with Hinata. Still, I hope my giftee enjoys the story!</p><p>( edit: more author notes were promised at some point but, as the creator has mostly forgotten what they wanted to say, this will be left as is until they remember what they wanted to say again )</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p> </p><p>They catch up to the Black Jackals at the club’s doors, cameras flashing and microphones held out even before the minivan’s doors have slid open. For all that he and the rest of the team had practically talked themselves hoarse at the emergency press conference, it’d clearly not been <em>enough</em>—and before their manager or any of their PR staff can diffuse the situation, the cameras capture Bokuto stepping into the baptism of flashlights.</p><p>“Bokuto-san, might I have a word with you?” one reporter asks, elbowing her way to Bokuto’s side and smiling up at him, but his own smile is… strained. It’s so obviously <em>fake</em> that the reporter pauses in her tracks, eyebrows rising at the <em>wrongness</em> of his expression—but it’s not long before she rallies enough to add, “You mentioned that there were no hard feelings between yourself and Sakusa-san… but that’s not true, is it?”</p><p>Bokuto opens his mouth, but not a single word leaves his lips. The cameras zoom in on his downcast eyes and the subtle but discernible droop of his hair, shutters clicking crazily while the reporters’ voices fight to rise above each other’s—</p><p>But then Atsumu steps out of the minivan and slings his arm around Bokuto’s shoulders, smile wide and utterly soulless. He raises a hand and clenches it in his signature move—and miraculously, the crowd falls silent.</p><p>“I know you’re all a little fired up after the championship tournament,” Atsumu begins in a cuttingly polite voice, “but couldja give us a <em>break?</em> Natterin’ on back there, natterin’ on here—yer got some guts swarmin’ us outside of an official event.”</p><p>The reporter smiles winsomely and points her mic at Atsumu’s darkening face, mouth opening to continue despite his harsh warning—</p><p>Only for a calm but firm hand to block her mic’s trajectory.</p><p>“We understand that you’re all curious and eager to learn more news about Sakusa-san,” Meian addresses the cameras, “but if you have any further questions, please consult our manager or send your questions to our official email.”</p><p>“But Captain Meian, surely you have more thoughts on Sakusa-san’s shock resignation!”</p><p>“There are rumours that Bokuto-san and Atsumu-san were particularly close to Sakusa-san—would either of you like to comment on those?”</p><p>The cameramen and reporters alike attempt to converge on the Black Jackal members filing into their dormitory building, but the club’s security guards are quick to hold the press back. They don’t leave the premises until the final member shuts the door in their faces—<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
“—<em>and that’s all for our live report! In other news—</em>”</p><p>Kiyoomi shuts the TV with gritted teeth and lets his head thud back against the hotel’s stiff armchair, but his teammates’ voices still ring in his ears. His <em>former</em> teammates, now, but it’d been just as hard to see their faces as it’d been when he’d announced his resignation.</p><p>Not to mention Atsumu’s <em>bleating</em> when he’d gone to clear out his half of their room.</p><p>
  <em>Yer the backbone of our team, Omi-Omi! How couldja just up and leave like <strong>that</strong>?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If that’s all you have to say then you might as well not say anything.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You promised me that we’d win the championships together—we were gonna sweep the league with our double summoner combo—</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I lied.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ya think I’m gonna fall for that? Don’t fucking joke around, Omi-kun!</em>
</p><p>But Kiyoomi hadn’t been joking—had packed his bags and left that very night, when Atsumu had stormed out and Bokuto had rushed out after him—and Atsumu’s accusations still ring in his head. That Atsumu could so blindly refuse to see the reason behind Kiyoomi’s resignation when he <em>knew</em> just how much work <em>everyone</em> in the Black Jackals put into the training was just…</p><p>“Are you alright, Omi-san?” a voice asks to his left, and Kiyoomi sighs before he lowers his head.</p><p>Hinata offers him a small smile, but it’s the plate of pickled plums in his hands that makes Kiyoomi’s lips twitch in a fleeting parody of a smile. “Don’t call me that,” he mutters, but his hands reach out for the plate.</p><p>Their fingers never brush in the exchange, but Kiyoomi’s careful to wipe the plate once Hinata’s let go of it. Hinata keeps smiling at him though, gaze unreadable for all that his smile’s genuine, and he takes a seat on the nearby bed when Kiyoomi digs into his snack—or as well as he can when his hands are practically mummified.</p><p>“You know Captain Meian could’ve negotiated with the boss,” Hinata says softly, gaze never leaving Kiyoomi’s stiff, bandaged fingers. “The team can wait a few months for you to go through rehab, have me replace you for a season and then bring you back in—”</p><p>“Shut up.”</p><p>Kiyoomi’s hand doesn’t tremble when he puts down his toothpick, but Hinata wouldn’t have noticed anyway. He’s too busy staring down at his fists, expression tight in a way Kiyoomi’s never seen before, and it’s <em>jarring</em> to see nothing but darkness suffusing Hinata’s generally-sunny features.</p><p>“You talk like I wanted to leave,” Kiyoomi says without once looking away from Hinata’s downcast face. “You talk like I’ve already given <em>up</em>.</p><p>“Did I ask for your pity?” he adds in a quietly waspish tone, even as Hinata flinches and glances up with a guilty expression. “This is an opportunity—”</p><p>“That I wanted to have with <em>you!</em>”</p><p>Hinata’s chest heaves as he stares down at Kiyoomi, eyes fever-bright and fists <em>trembling</em> by his sides, and Kiyoomi leans back into the armchair before he can stop himself. He’s not <em>afraid</em> of Hinata, the shrimp Bokuto had PKed against last Golden Week and sweet-talked the boss into contracting—but like this, it’s all too easy to see how he’d surpassed every other person in the training camp to make his debut this season.</p><p>“Bokuto-senpai was the one who gave me the opportunity to be a professional gamer,” Hinata says in a shaky voice, “but it was <em>you</em> who inspired me to train in several classes! I wanted to play with Bokuto-senpai and Atsumu-san and <em>you</em> in the upcoming season as whatever the Black Jackals needed, and now… <em>now…</em>”</p><p>Kiyoomi shuts his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, but he sees Hinata’s teary eyes anyway. If he’d known that Hinata would get this attached from their late-night training sessions, when he’d taken one look at the overeager trainee and found himself unable to chase him off…</p><p><em>The little madman,</em> Atsumu had jokingly called Hinata, but Kiyoomi had seen Hinata grow from fast fingers and directionless instincts to a finely-honed machine. There was only so much Hinata could do with an explosive hand speed and so much <em>more</em> he could do with an <em>effective</em> hand speed—but here he was, <em>comforting</em> Kiyoomi instead of returning to the dormitory with the rest of the team.</p><p>Another person might appreciate the cloying sympathy. Kiyoomi isn’t most people, though—and if it hadn’t been for Hinata escaping unscathed from the freak accident that’d left Kiyoomi’s hands almost <em>destroyed</em>, he would’ve shut Hinata out too.</p><p>“Go back, Hinata,” Kiyoomi tells Hinata without looking up.</p><p><em>Cherish the opportunity I no longer have,</em> Kiyoomi doesn’t bother adding.</p><p>But when Kiyoomi opens his eyes, Hinata’s standing right in front of him. Hinata’s <em>kneeling</em> without a word, earnest gaze almost enough to force Kiyoomi to shut his eyes again—but he only holds both hands face-up, a few scant centimetres from Kiyoomi’s own.</p><p>“You might’ve resigned without letting anyone know your reasons,” Hinata tells him in an unwavering voice, “but I <em>know</em> you’ll come back. You’ll win the MVP award before Atsumu-san does and rub it in his face, and we’ll laugh when he swears at you.”</p><p><em>Multiple compound fractures, </em>Kiyoomi’s doctor had informed him when he’d woken up in hospital. <em>We managed to save the majority of your hands—but frankly, young man, you’re lucky to have escaped with nothing more than those injuries</em>.</p><p>Kiyoomi would hardly call himself lucky—would hardly even call this <em>living</em>, not when he’ll return on a fast train to his parents’ home and start the long, hard road to recovery—but in this moment, with Hinata’s hands steady before his own…</p><p>He draws in a deep breath, places his hands ever so gently atop Hinata’s, and says, “Keep the championship trophy polished for me… Shouyou.”</p><p>When tears stream from Hinata’s eyes again, Kiyoomi hurriedly withdraws his hands—but there’s a smile on Hinata’s face, and Kiyoomi doesn’t flinch when Hinata pats his knee and gets up.<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
“I’ll apply again next year,” Kiyoomi says into the phone as the train pulls up to the platform.</p><p>“<em>We’ll definitely accept you back</em>—”</p><p>“Don’t make empty promises you can’t keep.”</p><p>Meian sighs, loud and just the slightest bit helpless, but Kiyoomi finds his seat without saying a word and Meian’s left to say, “<em>I don’t know what’s going on, and the boss refuses to tell me—but whatever it is, I’ll wait for you to return.</em>”</p><p>“Mm,” Kiyoomi replies.</p><p>“<em>Good luck then,</em>” Meian tells him—</p><p>But before the captain can hang up on him, Kiyoomi murmurs, “Make sure you take care of Hinata.”</p><p>He hangs up on Meian’s confused <em>what</em>, stares up at the advertisement Hinata had shot with the rest of the team for a famous headphone brand—and as the train pulls out of the platform, taking him away from the team he thought he’d never return to when he’d resigned, Kiyoomi shuts his eyes with the faintest of smiles.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Did you watch that match between the Adlers and Jackals last night?”</p><p>“You <em>know</em> I have cram school—my teacher would’ve <em>killed</em> me if I was sneaking a peek on my phone!”</p><p>“Well, you missed one <em>epic</em> showdown between Ninja Shou and Oni King…”</p><p>Kiyoomi adjusts his face mask and tugs on his hoodie, shoulders hunching as the two students walk past him, but they don’t spare him a second glance as they continue with their spirited conversation. By the time they leave with a third friend in tow, they’re no longer talking about his old team and their long-time rival—but there’s the slightest of smiles on his face.</p><p>“<em>Kiyoomi?</em>” the person on the other end asks, and Kiyoomi returns his attention to his phone call.</p><p>“Did you lose to Kageyama again?”</p><p>“<em>What do you mean, <strong>again</strong>? I’ll have you know that our arena scores are tied at 52:52 now!</em>”</p><p>Kiyoomi shakes his head and snorts as Shouyou continues protesting, but his gaze remains cool as he scans the bustling train station. There are so many people around that he can barely see the exits—but Shouyou’s voice is bright, a counterpoint to the uniformity of businessmen coming and going, and his fingers tighten around his phone as he continues to look around.</p><p>“Are you lost?” he asks in the middle of Shouyou’s rambling account of last night’s team battle.</p><p>“<em>Geez, you get lost <strong>once</strong> and a guy doesn’t let you live it down,</em>” Shouyou mutters.</p><p>But before Kiyoomi can respond to Shouyou’s petulant complaint, a person outfitted in a sports cap, a mask and sunglasses emerges from the crowd. “<em>I think I’m good though,</em>” the person in front of him says at the same time as the voice in his ear does—and Shouyou lowers his sunglasses long enough to give Kiyoomi a wink.</p><p>They hang up at the same time, but neither of them speak as the crowd moves around Shouyou. Kiyoomi stares at the person that’d succeeded him in the Black Jackals’ team, takes in what little he can see of Shouyou’s pale skin and messy orange hair—but then there’s a hand stretching out to him.</p><p>“So, you ready to take back your spot from me?” Shouyou asks, laughter clear in his voice…</p><p>And when Kiyoomi clasps his hand, he’s smiling as he says, “No, I think I’ll steal Atsumu’s instead.”</p><p>Shouyou’s hand is a little clammy and, frankly, not the best hand Kiyoomi’s ever forced himself to hold—but he only lets go so he can slot their fingers more comfortably together. “Hurry up, we’re going to miss the bus,” he tells Shouyou without letting go, and Shouyou only laughs before walking alongside him.</p><p>There’s no guarantee he’ll manage to get re-recruited into the Black Jackals. His hand speed is nowhere near what it was before, not after therapy had eaten up most of his time, and Shouyou’s well on his way to becoming the Rookie of the Year. It’s far more likely that he’d fall just short, experience not enough to cover the gap in his ability—</p><p>But Kiyoomi holds onto Shouyou’s hand a little tighter and steps into the brilliant morning sunlight.</p><p><em>It’s good to be back,</em> Kiyoomi lets himself think for a moment, before he drags Shouyou off towards the bus stand by their interlinked hands.</p>
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